Hi! I'm Anna and I'm the author of www.thehouseandhomestead.com. Here is where I will share video tutorials on topics including organic gardening, cooking from scratch, home food preservation, prepping, frugal living and more. My goal is to inspire you to take the next step in your own homestead journey, and prove that the simple life doesn't have to be complicated!
Excellent Video! I use my sundried tomatoes for a delightful tasting bread with herbs sprinkled on top. So delicious. Also when I want a treat I just nibble on them right out of the jar. Tutorial videos like yours are so inspiring, Thank you for sharing. My last dehydrator lasted about 15 years and though it would not work anymore I kept the perforated trays. I found them great for dehydrating herbs and some fruits in the sun. I have also found that if you vacuum pack the dehydrated tomatoes they will last for years in your food storage pantry.
I wish I could find a way to sun dry them. Between bugs; bears; deer; dogs; birds; I would not be able to keep them protected. I just don't have a sunny spot that is above ground level so I could keep them away from the seekers of food in my neighbourhood. Jealous of your set up.
I have so many pine cones and dead branches that fall off. I built one out of fire bricks after hurricane Sandy. Pine cones have a oil that repels water so you can pretty much burn them right away after shaking off the water. About three baskets like the one you have can cook a meal for 4 people.
This was my first time dehydrating anything. They're delicious. I'm so glad they don't call for real cheese. I love nutritional yeast and since it's not dairy, I can share with friends who avoid dairy and I suspect they will keep longer. I have a brand new dehydrator so it was great to walk away and do other things while they dried. You mentioned that the plus to using the deydrator is that you can make a larger batch. Is there some reason you can't bake multiple trays of kale in the oven, especially if you have convection?
You could do multiple trays in the oven, but I certainly can't fit 9 trays worth in my oven at once like I can in my dehydrator. Plus, you do have to keep an eye on the oven more as they could burn or get too crispy, even at low temps. A dehydrator is nice as you can "set it and forget it."
Olive oil should never be refrigerated. It can turn cloudy, and flavor will go off . If storing tomatoes in olive oil, keep in cool place. You will not get sick from this. Good for months. Your true sun drying is great. The sun will give flavor that a dehydrator cannot give, although they still can be a treat that way. Very pleasant video.
Typically you would need to start over from seed, unless you're growing something like wheatgrass, in which case you could snip it and continue to grow it.
Hi, Enjoyed your video. I wanted to see how you did your herbs, compared to what I do with mine. Like you, I tend to wait to the end of the season to harvest, other than what I use in recipes throughout the summer. I generally freeze mine, although, I have dried oregano and basil as well. I like your chive butter, which I will try next year, since I didn't plant any this year. Also, like you I tend to leave things in the freezer much longer than I should, but normally don't have a problem. Unfortunately, I have to plant in pots, since I live in a small house with very little planting space, but that's OK. I will also have to plant the mint and lemon balm for mojitos, YUM. The other thing I wasn't sure about was washing them, which I do, so again same as you. Looking forward to other videos. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed the video! I haven't posted in a long while as I've been busy with other projects, but plan to start up RU-vid again soon. Happy homesteading!
First time reading your hard copy magazine. It is so well done. Polyface Farm had them out for us to buy. What a perfect place to discover it. Thank you.
Some sun dried tomatoes taste as if they might have been marinated in olive oil or something. Have you heard of anybody dipping them in oil before putting them in the sun?
I know some people preserve them in olive oil (like the ones you buy at the store). There is a slight risk of botulism if you do this if there is any moisture leftover at all, so I don't preserve mine in olive oil, but you could certainly rehydrate them in olive oil for a bit before serving, or cook them in olive oil on low for a while before using to infuse the flavour into the oil.
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Thank you for making this video. I too used to use oxygen packets until I found out I was using them wrong.. They are only safe to use in naturally dry food such as rice, beans, etc. Otherwise removing the oxygen can cause botulism. I will leave a link. Thought you would want to know. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-P5nkbB_UsP0.html
Do flies not bother your slices? All I have to do is walk outside and think about cutting a tomato and flies begin to gather around. Once sliced, the jig is up. Flies hound the tomatoes like white on rice… or flies on tomato.
Flies aren't a huge bother, but I do sometimes lay a layer of cheesecloth overtop as a barrier. If they're a real problem then a dehydrator is handy. Or I suppose you could even put a fan on them to keep flies off.
I have one sitting in the side yard now.... the only way to keep it going is top feeding it... trying to side feed it just kills the fire mass... tried offset air and feed hole, and also aligning them both.... same result either way ... I have seven levels of bricks from base .... the concept is age old.... the fire and air draw up the chimney causes a hot fire with air sucked in from elevated bottom, but for some reason this one is not working...using cement bricks that have a tiny spacer ridge looks like they would never allow a tight junction at each brick.
@@user-ds4bf9fv8ujust lay them out on a towel and pat them dry. You don't have to really dry them. I use 2 quarts of water+1 cup vinegar. Bring to boil first, then add tomatoes for 2-6 min depending on size. Grape tomatoes 2 min, cherry 3, Roma 5-6
These will last for at least a year on the shelf. But technically dried fruits and veggies will last much longer, they just begin to lose nutrients and the quality starts to degrade more rapidly after about a year.
